Client Network Services, Inc. -- or CNSI -- has been scrutinized alongside former Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein, who once served as an executive with that firm. Greenstein resigned under pressure as investigators and critics questioned whether a $200 million contract was properly awarded to CNSI.

The contract assigned to the company certain oversight and operational responsibilities for the state's Medicaid Management Information System.

In it s petition, CNSI attorneys allege the deal was scrapped in a "sudden, precipitous, unilateral and unjustified" manner. While they concede that the contract allows the state to terminate the agreement should CNSI fail to comply with terms or fulfill its obligations, the attorneys argue that state officials have not shown any such failure.

"DHH and the (Jindal) Administration continue to lob vague accusations against CNSI without producing one shred of evidence that termination of the contract is justified under the contract," senior vice president and general counsel Kathryn Harris said in a statement.

Harris noted that the company has attempted -- unsuccessfully -- to obtain certain documents from the state using the Louisiana Public Records Law.

It's the latest development in a battle that has unfolded in recent months.

In March, CNSI sent a letter to the state Department of Health and Hospitals objecting to the contract termination. Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration scrapped the contract after details leaked about a federal investigation into the process.

CNSI attorney Kathryn Harris wrote to DHH seeking to discuss the contract, saying the state hasn't provided any factual basis for the cancellation.

Greenstein once was an executive at CNSI, though he's denied any involvement in the contract award. But he acknowledged that a change he pushed in the bid solicitation made CNSI eligible for the Medicaid contract.